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The Matrix
The Matrix: Poems 1960-1970 | N. H. Pritchard
2 posts | 1 read | 1 to read
A bold, pioneering, "free-souled" and long-rare classic of concrete poetry, available for the first time in 50 years Originally published by Doubleday and Company in 1970, N.H. Pritchard's The Matrixwas one of a tiny handful of books of concrete poetry published in America by a major publishing house. Sadly, the book was given little support and was not promoted, and it has long been out of print. However, it remains a cherished item for fans of poetry due to its unique composition, and difficult but rewarding poetics. Forcing the reader to straddle the line between reading and viewing, the book features visual poems that predate the experiments of the Language poets, including words that are exploded into their individual letters, and columns of text that ride the edge of the page. Praised as a "FREE souled" work by Allen Ginsberg, The Matrixfeels as fresh and necessary today as when it was first published. This new facsimile edition, copublished by Primary Information and Ugly Duckling Presse, makes the book available to a new generation of readers.
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Taylor
The Matrix: Poems 1960-1970 | N. H. Pritchard
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Brilliant, experimental work that is more focused on form and words than content…I love work like this, as I get as much out of viewing poetry as art, mood, and image as I do from narrative terms.

It came out in 1970, but it vibrates strongly today. It‘s also a fast read because many of the pages are nearly blank: words along the edges of the pages; blocks of text that insist we remember that letters are mere symbols which we give meaning to.

Texreader Excellent review 11mo
Taylor @Texreader Thank you. 11mo
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quote
Taylor
The Matrix: Poems 1960-1970 | N. H. Pritchard

So sooner though blasted
the lone ilk fades
in shimmering soft outlasted
nary lead yet they to whom
a purple had no power
withstood the wormy past
of dust now bowered
musk and stale nodes that reached their crest